Articles Posted inPalm Beach County

The woman filed a complaint Sept. 28 in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Florida Orange County against Hyatt Corporation alleging they failed to use ordinary care to maintain their premises in a safe condition.

According to the complaint, on Sept. 22, 2015, the woman sustained serious injuries on the side of her neck when the shower head in a Hyatt Regency of Orlando bathroom suddenly dislodged and struck her. The suit says this caused her to violently twist her body and fall full force onto her right arm, neck and shoulder area.

As a result, she says she suffered bodily injuries, resulting in pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish, medical expenses and loss of earnings.

Sometimes something as simple as bathing can be a hazardous activity. Injuries from falls in the bathroom, particularly when getting in and out of a shower or tub, are common occurrences.

Bathroom falls typically mean violent contact with hard surfaces, which may result in traumatic brain injuries, back, hip or spinal injuries, neck fractures, or broken bones. If you suffered a serious injury from a hotel bathroom fall, you may still be dealing with the after effects.

If the hotel where you fell did not provide reasonable accommodations to protect you from an accident, you may be able to file an injury claim against the hotel for failing to provide a reasonably safe environment. Our South Florida Slip, Trip & Fall Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help you pursue potential compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

The 22-year-old Lake Worth man died in the crash that happened shortly before 9 p.m., the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators say the man was heading west in the center lane of the 900 block of Southwest Third Street at the overpass when he was struck by a GMC Yukon being driven by a 48-year-old woman.

The woman stopped to help the man after the crash but he died after being taken to Broward Health North, according to reports.

Investigators believe the man was going around the 35 mph speed limit at the time of the crash. Neither she nor a witness reported seeing the scooter before the crash, according to the sheriff’s office.

Scooters sharing the roads with other vehicles can bring about serious dangers. Scooters can be hard to spot for driver who is not paying attention, and many motorists do not take enough care to keep an eye out for them. Scooters are always at risk of being hit, and scooter operators are always the ones at a disadvantage due to the fact that scooters offer so little fall and impact protection.

Even the most defensive scooter driver cannot be protected from negligent motorists. When someone else is responsible for causing your injury or a loved one’s death, you can file a suit for financial compensation for the damages you have suffered, including:

A Frontier spokesman said flight 1334 left Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Sunday for Palm Beach with 205 passengers and seven crew members aboard and landed late Sunday in Indianapolis out of “an abundance of caution.”

The pilot for the Denver-based airline made the decision to divert the plane, according to reports.

Passengers were put on another plane to get to their destination. According to reports, they arrived in Palm Beach on Monday morning.

The Transportation Security Administration screens over 1.8 million passengers every single day, and each traveler knows that flying has built-in risks and trusts that they will get to their final destination safe and sound. The reality is that planes are machines, and machines can malfunction. Although airlines take as many precautions as possible, when dealing with such high speeds and altitudes, flight mistakes can have serious ramifications.

Airplane accidents can be caused by many different things. The following are some of the common causes of airplane accidents:

Delray Beach is taking no chances. The city, which currently has only a few “no swimming” signs, plans to install 20 signs that warn of alligators at eight canals and lakes.

So are Oakland Park, North Lauderdale and Parkland, where staff are adding warning signs at parks by water.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission numbers, there were nine alligator attacks in 2015, one of which was fatal, and 10 in 2014, none of which were fatal. Since 2006, there have been five reported fatalities due to alligator attacks. There have been 23 reported attacks since 1948, when the agency began keeping track.

Living in Florida, we know the dangers of alligators in any body of water, as well as hotels, golf courses and even backyards. Most public places located near bodies of water are pretty vigilant about relocating dangerous animals out of these areas. The added signage going up in south Florida is great, as it could prevent another tragedy from occurring.

According to the FAA, Allegiant 7001, an Airbus A319 aircraft, diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida after several injuries were reported on board due to the severe turbulence.

The flight originated in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and was headed to Pittsburgh International Airport.

According to Allegiant, there were 137 passengers and six crew members on board the flight.

The five people taken to the hospital sustained head injuries. It is not immediately clear their condition.

Allegiant Air issued the following statement: “The airline is currently working to accommodate all passengers and develop a plan for getting all passengers safely to their destination. Passengers are currently being cleared through customs.”

Turbulence is a common occurrence during any high altitude flight, but sadly it can also result in the injury of passengers, as this case shows. If proper protocols are not followed or if passengers are not in their seats when experiencing sudden shifts and jolts, then serious injuries can arise.

Airline workers negligence can be a factor in turbulence-related injuries on aircrafts. When flight attendants, pilots or crew members fail to abide by proper safety procedures or do not take the necessary actions to prevent injuries, then the airline and its employees can be held responsible for any costs associated with injuries that result from that negligence.

Much of distracted driving centers on cellphone use while driving. Texting and talking on the phone while driving is a huge issue among all age groups, but especially teen drivers. People might think they are capable of driving while texting, but the truth is they are paying more attention to their phone than the road. Even hands-free options are not 100 percent distraction free – people can get more involved in their conversation than the main task at hand. If talking or texting on your phone is something you do, try keeping your phone in the back seat when you are driving. You will be less tempted to grab it at red lights or mess with it while sitting in traffic.

Cell phones are not the only distraction to drivers, people can be distracted by eating, drinking, and even other passengers. While fast food was sort of invented for people on the run, there is no way to stay focused on the road when you are unwrapping a burger or shovelling french fries in your mouth. Most drivers also fail to realize how distracting other passengers can be – screaming kids, rambunctious teens, etc. can all take your attention off the road. In these types of situations, it is actually best to pull the car over and handle whatever you need.

Distracted driving is a major problem on Florida roads, resulting in accidents, injuries, and deaths. According to the the NHTSA, 3,129 people were killed distracted driving accidents in 2014.

Distractions take your eyes off the road, hands off the steering wheel, and your mind away from driving. Distracted driving leads to serious injuries and sometimes, death.

Less than a year after a University of Central Florida student drowned after her car crashed into a pond, a law is being passed in her name that would require roadside guardrails in front of bodies of water.

Chloe’s Law has passed both the House and the Senate and will go into effect this summer.

With the passing of Chloe’s law, any site of a drowning-related traffic accident over the past ten years will be outfitted with a guardrail.

According to Federal crash data, 49 people in Florida died inside submerged vehicles from 2008 to 2012. No other state comes close to these alarming numbers. Texas, ranks No. 2, with 18 deaths, followed by Indiana with 14, and Arizona and Louisiana, each with 10.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, counties with the highest concentration of motor vehicle drownings were:

Palm Beach

Broward

Miami-Dade

Orange, Duval, Lee and Collier Counties are tied for fourth place.

While it is true that guard rails won’t stop all accidents from occurring, strategically placed rails can reduce drowning fatalities from these types of collisions. In many cases, guard rails can turn what could be a fatal accident into a minor traffic incident.

If you or someone you love has been involved in any type of auto accident that resulted in serious injuries or death, you might have a claim for financial compensation if someone else is responsible for the incident, including when another driver’s negligent actions caused your car to travel off the road and into a body of water.

Hospitals in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties have seen at least 40 visits due to hoverboards. Injuries included broken and fractured wrists, as well as concussions.

Earlier this month, the scooters made headlines after reports of some catching fire. In one Boca Raton case, a woman told police her 11-year-old daughter was playing on the board when it started making popping sounds. It was on fire moments after the child jumped off, according to a report.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has said it is investigating the fire hazard posed by the toy.

In most of the local cases, though, falls have been the number cause for injuries.

While some injuries have been more mild, others have been seriously harmed. A 10-year-old from the Hialeah area, had to be airlifted from Memorial Hospital Miramar to Joe DiMaggio Hospital in Hollywood for emergency surgery when his fall left his bone poking out from his skin – an open fracture.

The Hoverboard reportedly stalled as he was riding to his friend’s house and he fell.

The boy is expected to recover within three months.

The Hoverboard, a self-balancing electric scooter, was named the hottest holiday gift for 2015. In fact, to prove its popularity, on Cyber Monday one was sold every 12 seconds. Even though this gadget is a big hit among kids and adults, hoverboards have come under scrutiny due to serious safety concerns.

The U.S. National Association of State Fire Marshals and the National Trading Standards in the United Kingdom have both issued warnings to consumers that Hoverboards could potentially overheat, explode, or catch fire, mainly due to faulty charging mechanisms.

The man said his mother was suffering from a condition making it difficult for her to swallow or eat or drink solid foods.

In April, the man claims he was on the phone with his mother when she told him she felt like she was choking. He said he called the nursing home to alert them his mother needed help, but no one answered his calls.

According to reports, call records show a woman called 911 from the choking woman’s room and then hung up.

When dispatchers called back, the receptionist had no idea there was any trouble, and the nursing station did not answer.

Fire Rescue did respond, and documents Fischer show that the staff was not performing CPR, rather they were standing around the woman’s bed.

Reports indicate that the woman had not been breathing or responding for at least five minutes. The records also shows that the staff had not cleared the woman’s airway, which was clogged with vomit, which made her condition worse.

Wrongful death is a type of civil case, that is usually brought against a negligent party that has wrongfully caused the death of another party. In nursing home wrongful death cases, the victim’s loved ones are usually the one’s filing a lawsuit against the facility for negligence and/or abuse.

When considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit against a nursing home, there are several factors to consider, including:

If the death was caused somehow by the nursing home

If the conduct of the staff members, healthcare professionals, or caregivers at the nursing home contributed to the death

If there are surviving family members of the victim, such as a spouse, children, or other dependents and/or beneficiaries

While other states have found ways to cut bicycle deaths during two periods measured over the last three decades, Florida has only reduced the number less than 10 percent.

Nationwide, safety seems to be improving for bicyclists, with the number of deaths per 100,000 people declining 44 percent from 0.41 to 0.23 during the periods measured — the five years from 1975 to 1979 and the five years from 2008 to 2012, according to the new CDC report titled “Bicyclist Deaths Associated with Motor Vehicle Traffic — United States, 1975–2012.”

The steepest decline measured was among children younger than 15.

According to the report, bicyclists are killed on U.S. roads at a rate double that of vehicle occupants, even though bicycle travel accounts for only about 1 percent of trips across all modes of transportation.

Because of the year-round warm climate in Florida, cycling is a popular mode of transportation and exercise activity during most months of the year. However, Florida roadways also pose serious risks to bicyclists, from distracted automobile drivers to improper bike lanes. If you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury or was killed in a bike accident, it is very important to discuss your case with a Florida Injury Lawyer at Whittel & Melton.

Unfortunately, what could start out as a leisurely bike ride can quickly turn into a fatal accident. At Whittel & Melton, we believe that the responsible party should be held responsible for damages. Filing a personal injury or wrongful death claim for a bike accident can be complex, but we can provide you with the experienced representation you need.

The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice or the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. Whittel & Melton, LLC serves clients throughout the areas below, but also represents families in Clearwater, Dade City, Brooksville, Bronson, Trinity, Hudson, Wesley Chapel, Beverly Hills, Crystal River and The Villages.